Dress.



E. & A. MENDELS. A. MBNDBLS, ADMINISTRATOR or n. mmmnns, DEG'D.

DRESS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 13. 1912.

Patented July 29, 1913.

Witnessm J1 Homeg 'onrrnn snares earner oration.

EMANUEL' HENDEL$ AND ABRAHAM MEN'DELS, 0F BALTIMORE, MARYLAND; SAID ABRAHAM MENDELS ADMINISTRATOR 0F SAID EMANUEL MENDELS, DECEASED. l

DRESS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July eefiais.

To all who-m it may concern:

Be it known that we, EMANUEL Mnxnnns and A RAHAM MENnnLs, citizens of the United States of America, residing at the city of Baltimore, State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useffil Improvements in Dresses, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a one-piece garment or house-dress, and particularly to the means for fastening the same whereby the garment is quickly and conveniently closed and fastened. and the'waistline is at the same time adjusted to exactly the length desired. 1 i Y 1 Various wrappers and kimonos, intended for the general purpose to which the article of my invention is applied, are in common use." Some of these are loose robes which are cumbersomeand otherwise inconvenlent when worn by an active person, while others,

which it more closely, are of a fixed dimenslon when closed and must be made or .altered to lit the 7 person who is to wear them. Also putting on and taking off these latter garments consume a considerable amount of time because of the complicated fastening means.

The garment of our invention is made in a single piece, open at the front for its entire length and having relatively-wide front flaps. Enc ircling the waistline is a-belt,

provided near its ends with a series of fasttoning means. These are on the outside of the garment, spaced alon the belt; and at the opposite side near the ack a strap is secured to the inner face of the garment at or near the belt. This strap is provided with a fastener or a series of fasteners adapted to coiiperate with those on the belt. At the end of the belt or on the outer edge of the front flap, is another fastening device for securing the front flap whenlapped over on the outside. This may be in the form of an invisible hook or eye, and on the outside of the other flap, spaced well back from the edge, there is a corresponding and cooperating fastening member orseries of fastening members, aS invisible eyes, to cooperate with the fasteners at the end of the belt. For these hooks and eyes any suitable fastening for holdin the outside front flap may be substitut In the preferred form of our device the garment is made with two front. flaps, either of which may be folded over the other when the garment is closed. At each end of the belt, on the outside, is a cover flap attached at its upper edge to the upper edge of the belt and swinging free. Fastening means are arranged along the belt at each end beneath the flap. There is a strap at each side near the back having corresponding fastening means, and each front flap is provided at its edge with a fastening device, and there is a corresponding fastening or series of fastenings spaced well back from the edge on the outside of each front flap to cooperate with the edge fastening.

the drawing I have illustrated a garment constructed in accordance with the preferred form of our invention. Y Figures 1 and 2 are elevations of the garment in closed position. In Fig. l the left front'flap is outside and in Fig. 2 the front fiap on the right is folded over the left front flap. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary elevation of the garment open and suspended-from two points at its upper edge.

The garment, as shown, consists of the usual body portion 1, shaped in a general way to the form of the wearer, being somewhat reduced at the waist, open 'at the front at 2, from top to bottom, and having front flaps 3 and 4 of-considerable width so that when the garment is closed, theylap over for several inches at't-he waist and to a greaterextent below. A belt 5 encircles the waistline, extending from the outer edge of one front flap to the outer edge of the other front flap, and preferably the top of the dress is formed of one piece, gathered in at the bottom and secured to the belt, the skirt being formed of a separate piece and so:

cured at its top edge to the belt. The belt, 9 as shown, is-forlned. with a cover flap 6 at each end, which is secured at the top edge but freeat the bottom and front end edges so as to form a depending flap which swings.

from the top edge of the belt: To form this flap the outer belt strap 7 is utilized, this strap being preferably secured to the belt an, its top edge throughout its entire length and at its bottom edge throughout the greater portion of its length, the bottom edge being leftfree near the 'endsto'form the flap? Beneath the flap (hat each endv is a series of fastenings 8, shown in the form of the wellknown ball and socket clasp, though any other fastening may used. These are outwardly dispose! and spaced in the direction of the length of the belt.

' Secured to the inner face of the garment at each side near the back, preferably on the belt line, is a strap 9, the straps being fastened at one end and the full length of the strap swinging free. Each strap is provided with one or more fastening members 10 to cooperate with the 'fastenings 8 on the belt. hen a number of fastenings 10 are used,. these are spaced in the direction of the length of the strap. Each front flap is provided at or near its outer edge 11 with a fastening member 12. This is preferably at the end of the belt'as shown. On the outer face of each flap, spaced well back from. the edge and preferably on the belt, is a series of fastenings 13 to cooperate with the fastenings 12. For the fastening -devices 12 and 13 we find it most desirable to use hooks at 12 and invisible eyes at 13.

, In the operation of the device, one front flap is first drawn forward and laid in position about the wearer. The opposite strap 9 is then drawn over to meet the front flap and a fastening 10 thereof brought into engagement with the corresponding fastening 8 beneath the cover flap 6 on the belt portion of the first front flap, the strap being drawn to the desired tension and the corfor the full length-and havingfront flaps adapted to lap over with eitherfiap' outside when the garment isclosed', a belt encircling.

the waistline,'- fastening meansarranged I 85- responding fastenings being chosen with this end in view. The cover flap 6 is then folded down over the strap. The edge of the other front flap is then drawn over the one first operated, and the fastening member 12 I is brought into engagement with the corresponding member of the series of fastenings 13.

We have thus produced a house-dress which may be quickly put on or off, and which readily and almost automatically fits itself to the wearer. It can thus be produced in large quantities at low cost and in standard sizes to fit all purchasers.

It will be apparent that the nature of-the fastenings is not a feature of our invention, and that any ,sultable fastening means may be employed in the place of those which we jia've shownand described. It will also be apparent that it is unnecessary to provide two straps 9 and two sets of fastenings; 8, but to make the garment in this way 1n-' I creases its life and makes it possible to maintain a fresh appearance of the garment for a longer period after laundrying, as first one flap and then the other may be worn outside.-

We have thus described our invention specifically in orderthat the nature and operation of the device may be clearly under stood. However, the specific terms herein are used in their desctiptive rather than in their limiting sense and the scope of the invention is defined in the claims'.

WVe claim. Q i 1. A one-piece garment open at the frontfor its full length and having front flaps" adapted to lap over with either flap outside when the garment is closed, a belt encircling the waistline, cover flaps extending along the belt neareach end, fastening-means beneaththe cover flaps, straps, one attached at one end to the inner face of the garment at each side near the back, a series of fastening means on each strapjaclapted' to-cooperate with the fastening means on'the belt,.and spaced in the direction of the length of the strap, and means for, fastening the outer frontfiap. I,

2. A one-piece garment, open at the front along the belt near each end, straps attached by the end, one to'the inner face of the gar-1 ment at each side near the back,"and fasten-- ing means 'on each strap. adaptedto cooperate witht-he fastening means'on the belt and 9 0 strap, and means for fastening the edge of spaced in the direction of the length of the Copies of this DatcntmB-Y be obtained for five cents each, by addressing t cqmmissim'ler 0f Patents i Washington, D. c, 

